Okay, wuff got SERIOUSLY silly in the kitchen tonight! Might even say that Vrghr's "Gone Bananas"! Not sure what prompted this strange craving. Don't think there's any pregnancy issues involved (despite the size of wuff's tummy!).

No telling, but the result was quite tasty, even if the taste profile was seriously weird! Yup! This wuff made Chicken in a Coconut Banana sauce, with a really strange mix of savory, sweet, and spicy-hot seasonings. Definitely not something Vrghr has ever tasted before. However, it IS something wuff would make again, just not too frequently.

Unlike Caribbean curries that sometimes feature bananas as a component, the banana flavor is in the forefront of this. The savory herbs and lemon and lime juice blunt some, but not all of the sweetness. And the chili goes well with the fruity flavor, with the banana tempering the heat quite a bit.

Oh well, it was fun, whimsical, and tasty! So, here you go!

Note: Amchoor Powder is a mid-eastern spice with lovely tart lemon-lime flavors and a nice floral bouquet. It's not essential, but does add a nice tart touch to counter some of the banana sweetness. If you leave it out, consider increasing the amount of lemon and lime juice, or add a bit of lemon and lime zest in its place.

Ingredients:
For the Chicken
1 Tbs Olive Oil
5 boneless skinless Chicken Thighs
~½ tsp Granulated Garlic
~ ½ tsp Granulated Onion
~ ½ tsp Sweet Paprika
Salt & Pepper
½ C Madira Wine

For the Sauce
1 can Coconut Milk
1/3 C Flaked Coconut + ~2 Tbs for garnish
1 Tbs Ghee or Butter4 bananas
2 green Cardamom pods
1 black Cardamom pod
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp Amchoor Powder
¼ tsp ground Mace
¼ tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
½ tsp ground Fenugreek Seeds
½ tsp Aleppo Pepper flakes
1 tsp Ginger Paste
~ 2 tsp Chili Paste
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lime Juice
½ tsp ground Turmeric Root

Other
Chopped Macadamia Nuts (for garnish)
Flaked Coconut (for garnish)
Slice bananas (for garnish)

Directions:
Gently fry the chicken
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until hot. Add the boneless, skinless, chicken thighs. Sprinkle the tops lightly with granulated garlic, granulated onion, sweet paprika, and salt and pepper. Fry until lightly browned on one side (about 5 minutes), then flip over and season the other side in the same way. Fry until the remaining side is also browned.
Add 1/2 C of Madira wine to deglaze the pan. Allow to boil and steam until nearly entirely evaporated.

Make the Sauce
In a medium sauce pan, heat the butter/ghee until quite warm. Add the cardamom pods. Cook and allow to flavor the butter for about 3-4 minutes.
Add the flaked Coconut. Watch it closely, the coconut will go from Toasty to Burnt surprisingly quick! Have the can of coconut milk ready to quench the heat, if necessary!
Cook the coconut, stirring frequently, until toasty.
Pour in the coconut milk.
Add the peeled bananas, broken into chunks.
Add the lemon and lime juice, and spices and mash the bananas with a potato masher. Stir everything together.

Note, you can heat this up quite a bit with more Allepo pepper and chili paste, but this was a first try so wuffy started out mild.

Allow the sauce to cook over medium heat until the flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the fried chicken. Stir a bit to make sure everything is covered.
Cook at medium low heat until the flavor infused the chicken, about 12-15 minutes.

Serve over rice. Garnish with more sliced banana, flaked coconut, and chopped Macadamia nuts!